This has been reported by Bristows. The PPA allows various provisions of the UPCA to come into force early. ‘Ratification of the PPA is required [in Austria] but this is expected to be a relatively quick, formal procedure.’

‘If and when the pan-European patent court and Unitary Patent are established, pharma and biotech companies should play their full part in the new system.’

This was argued during IAM’s third annual pharma and biotech IP conference, early February 2019 in London.

‘Panellists holding in-house positions said they were looking forward to the UPC and unitary patent’s creation, adding that it was important for life sciences companies to be involved in shaping case law rather than leaving that to other industries with different interests.’

The Law Society in the UK has published guidance for solicitors in case the UK leaves the EU without an exit agreement, including remarks about the Unitary Patent system.

According to the document, ‘it is generally accepted that the draft Withdrawal Agreement’s proposed transition phase would permit the UK to continue to be a part of the UPC system, at least for the duration of that period.

However, it is less certain that the UK could remain in the UPC system under a no deal scenario. It is unclear whether the CJEU would regard the participation of a non-EU member state in a UPC system with the power to refer matters to the CJEU as lawful, and in particular whether UK participation in the unitary patent part of the UPC package is possible.

In addition, the ability of solicitors to represent clients in the UPC would be in doubt (…) even in a scenario where the UK itself was allowed to participate in the UPC (…).

The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot programme between the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (INPI) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) has been extended for a further period of two years ending 31 March 2021. In addition, INPI will expand the target technical field of the PPH with effect from 1 April 2019.

The International Center for Patent Registration, Ministry of Economy (United Arab Emirates) has specified the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) as a competent International Searching Authority (ISA) and an International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) for international applications filed by nationals and residents of the United Arab Emirates with the International Bureau as receiving office with effect from 6 January 2019.

Morocco has started allowing owners of trademarks registered in Morocco, or registered internationally with designating Morocco, to record their suspension applications with the customs authorities requesting the seizure or suspension of any counterfeit products that bears the trademark

Based on the provisions of the Common Regulations under the Madrid Agreement and Protocol Concerning the International Registration of Marks and after consultation with the Office of Samoa, the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization has on 1 February 2019 announced the individual fees, in Swiss francs, payable when Samoa is designated in an international application or in an application for renewal of international registration

The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) recently released modified classification of goods and services based on the 2019 version of the eleventh edition of the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification) published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

Cases

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on a series of questions referred by the Arnhem-Leeuwarden Appeals Court (Netherlands), relating to the possible copyright protection of the taste of a cheese product. The CJEU confirmed that the concept of a “work” provided for in Directive 2001/29 requires the existence of an external expression identified in a sufficiently accurate and objective manner, which does not occur in the case of a taste. In short, it is impossible to objectively and accurately define the subject matter of protection, leading to legal uncertainty, which determines that a flavour cannot be classified as an intellectual work.

If a patent only provides the skilled person with a general scientific explanation as to why the procedure disclosed therein is suitable for the purpose in question and does not disclose a new technical teaching in relation to this purpose, but merely a discovery of biological correlations, then this is insufficient to acknowledge novelty (continuation of BGH, judgment of 9 June 2011 - X ZR 68/08, GRUR 2011, 999 marginal 44 - Memantine).

The claims at issue were directed to the natural law of naturally-occurring antibodies and the neurological disease, and did not add an inventive concept that would have transformed them into patent eligible subject matter.

After terminating development of a competing drug, Momenta Pharmaceuticals no longer had standing to appeal a ruling by the PTAB that sustained a patent for treating rheumatoid arthritis. The appeal was also moot.

Claims for a patent asserted by Voit Technologies against Del-Ton for "a method of buying and selling an item" through the Internet were directed to an abstract idea and lacked any inventive concept that would transform it into patent-eligible subject matter.

A district court erred in reading a "repeated desmear process" limitation in patent claims relating to circuit boards and by failing to give the asserted claims their plain and ordinary meaning. The district court’s judgment of noninfringement was vacated.

Four patents held by Trading Technologies International were not eligible for covered business method review because they are for technological inventions. Thus, rulings made by the PTAB on the patents while performing covered business method reviews were vacated.

A district court erred in granting summary judgment to the defending provider on the grounds that the asserted claims were invalid for lack of written description and were not infringed by the provider’s system.